Conventional bodily exudate capture articles, such as feminine urinary incontinence articles, can be broadly categorized as disposable or extended-use. The extended-use articles generally capture and store urine and other exudates until such time as the user or caregiver removes and empties the article. Extended-use articles are designed to receive more than one urine insult and/or exudate discharge and are designed to be cleaned and reused many times over a prolonged period of time. Such articles may have various attachment means or alignment means to decrease the likelihood of leakage. For example, some extended-use articles use an intra-vaginal tab to assist alignment of the article. Other extended-use articles incorporate adhesives or suction to protect against urine leaks. However, many extended-use exudate capture articles are undesirable because users do not want to clean the articles between uses. Also, the size and cumbersomeness of currently available articles fail to provide the discretion or ease of use desired by users of such articles. Finally, internal alignment devices, such as intra-vaginal tabs, can be physically and emotionally uncomfortable for users.
The other general type of bodily exudate capture articles, the disposable articles, are generally absorbent articles that are discarded when soiled. Such articles are designed for a single or limited wear to manage one or more urine insults or exudate discharges before disposal. This category of urinary incontinence articles can include internal articles, external articles, or intralabial articles. Disposable articles may be occlusive articles designed to prohibit the flow of urine from the urethral opening or meatus. For example, adhesive backed occluding articles may be inserted directly into or over the urethral opening to stop the flow of urine from the bladder to the outside of the body via the urethra. However, some women are not comfortable with an internally placed urinary incontinence article or use of such an article is otherwise undesirable. Other women may not be comfortable using an article that uses adhesive to attach over the urethral opening. In such situations, the user may choose between an external article and an intralabial article. The external articles are generally absorbent pads or liners used to absorb urine after it has exited the body. This type of urinary incontinence article has the advantage of external use, but it too can be uncomfortable and lack discretion due to its size and location external to the body. The third type of urinary incontinence article, the intralabial article, is generally positioned between the user's labia and is configured to absorb urine as it exits from the body. This type of urinary incontinence article has the advantage of greater discretion because of the smaller size and closer positioning to the body, however, the small size increases the possibility of leakage occurring due to decreased capacity. The small size also increases the chances of product failure due to improper placement. Ideally, the labial article would be consistently positioned close enough to the urethral opening to ensure the absorbent article captures the urine discharge as it leaves the urethral opening. However, many women are not familiar with their own anatomy and specifically the location of the urethral opening. Furthermore, many women are not comfortable looking at or feeling their genital region for the proper placement of the labial article. Therefore, improper placement of traditional intralabial articles relative to the urethral opening is more likely to occur.
Even women that are successful in finding the urethral opening and positioning the article may still have leakage of urine. Traditional articles are generally configured to receive urine discharges upon a top surface and are designed to absorb urine through the top surface. Despite the absorbent qualities of such articles, urine may still run off the top surface before the labial article can fully absorb the urine. Therefore, it is apparent that there is a need for an intralabial bodily exudate capture article that is discrete, easy to position without the need to search for the urethral opening or without the need to insert portions of the device into the body, directs urine into the exudate capture article and is disposable.